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Gamaliel

#3,207 in 2025Boys' name

My reward is God

Gamaliel has been given to 1,950 babies in the U.S. since 1921. In 2025 it ranked #3,207 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2004, with 56 recorded.

Babies named Gamaliel, 2025

1 in 89,600

Gamaliel over time, 1880–2025

Boys
020406018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Gamaliel: meaning, origin, and history

My reward is God

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Gamaliel means

Gamaliel means “my reward is God”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Middle English Gamaliel, from Late Latin Gamaliēl, from Koine Greek Γαμαλιήλ (Gamaliḗl), from Aramaic גַמַלִיאיֵל (Ḡamalīʾēl), from Biblical Hebrew גַּמְלִיאֵל (Gamlīʾēl).

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Gamaliel (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Gamaliel is used in English, Latin and Spanish.

Gamaliel comes through Middle English Gamaliel, Late Latin Gamaliēl, Koine Greek Γαμαλιήλ, Aramaic גַמַלִיאיֵל and Biblical Hebrew גַּמְלִיאֵל.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Gamaliel is pronounced / ɡəˈmeɪ.li.əl/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,950 boys were recorded with the name Gamaliel between 1921 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 56 in 2004; its best national rank was #1,801 in 1979.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #4,180 in 2020 to #3,207 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #2,935 in 2015 to #3,207 in 2025.

How common is Gamaliel?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 89,600
37 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 46,200
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#3,207
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
62,106 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Gamaliel sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 62,106 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Gamaliel. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Gamaliels were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Gamaliel was born before 2002 — so the typical Gamaliel is around 23 today.

Median birth year
2002
About 23 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
24.9% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
53.5%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
1,928
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 24.9% of all recorded uses (485).

Is Gamaliel rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+337
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+973
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
−272
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.93×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
66.1%
Peak was 2004 (56)
Years since peak
21
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
13.9% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,801
1979

Where Gamaliel is used

Across 1910–2025, Gamaliel was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 50,000 boys, against 1 in 84,365 across all states with data. It was least common in New York (1 in —).

02 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 50,000
  2. 2Texas1 in 50,000
  3. 3Florida1 in 100,000
  4. 4Arizona1 in —
  5. 5Illinois1 in —
  6. 6Massachusetts1 in —
  7. 7New Jersey1 in —
  8. 8New York1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Gamaliel has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Gamaliel around the world

Where Gamaliel ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • France
    1973–2025
    #3,261
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2019–2024
    #3,231
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1990–1990
    #484
    in 1990

Popularity data from Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Gamaliel by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#3,207
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 973
Best rank ever
#1,801
1979
Peak year
2004
56 that year
First recorded
1921
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,950
Count in 2025
37

Names similar to Gamaliel

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

JahazielEsequielEthanielYechielGavrielDannielZabdielNatanielJahzielOtonielJabrielCastielJassielZurielYarielJarielHazielJahdielRazielGamlielOthnielGadielGrabielJasiel

Sibling names for Gamaliel

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Gamaliel

Top names of 2004, Gamaliel's peak yearThe 2000s in fullOther names that peaked in 1979Boys' names starting with G